عن محمود بن لبيد أن عثمان بن عفان أراد بناء المسجد فكره الناس ذلك، وأحبوا أن يدعه على هيئته، فقال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «مَن بنى مسجدًا لله بنى الله له في الجنة مثله».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]
المزيــد ...

Mahmūd ibn Labīd related that ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to rebuild the (Prophet's) Mosque, but the people did not like this idea and they wished that it should be preserved as it was. Thereupon, he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'He who builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him the like of it in Paradise.'"
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Explanation

‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to expand and renovate the Prophet's Mosque, but the people disliked the idea and wished that it be left as it was, in the same old form and condition during the Prophet's lifetime. Thereupon, ‘Uthmān said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever builds a mosque for Allah - that's sincerely for Allah's sake - Allah will build for him the like of it in Paradise. Thus, the recompense is of the same type of the performed deed. But this does not mean they are alike in terms of the quantity and the quality, because what is in Paradise is far greater and more beautiful than what man builds in the worldly life. It only resembles it in being a structure. As ‘Uthmān grasped this meaning, he was keen to build the mosque in a perfect and fine manner and did so sincerely for the sake of his Lord.

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. The Hadīth points out the reward of building a mosque for Allah.
  2. The expansion and renovation of a mosque falls under the reward for building, as understood by the rightly-guided Caliph (may Allah be pleased with him).
  3. It stresses the importance of sincerity to Allah Almighty in all deeds.
  4. It shows the merit of ‘Uthmān (may Allah be pleased with him).
  5. It gives glad tidings to those who build mosques for Allah Almighty that they will enter Paradise.